Disambiguation between Adenovirus and Brumation

[mactac]

We have 2 bearded dragons with ADV, and it seems as though the symptoms of ADV often exactly mimic brumation:
- Not eating
- loss of energy
- spending a lot of time in hide/not basking

Because I would approach brumation and symptomatic ADV quite differently (and in some ways completely oppositely), it seems that it is important to understand which of these it is, since choosing the wrong approach could actually case harm.

What are some strategies to make a differential between brumation and ADV symptoms?

I realize that for some people, it doesn't matter since they do not let their ADV-positive beardies brumate. Or maybe this is always the answer?

 

[xp29]

No I don't think preventing natural behavior is the answer personally, I think it would cause undue stress.
I think probably Tracie @Drache613 would be the best person to talk to, she is a vet tech. @AHBD might also have some insight to offer.

 

[AHBD]

Aw, this is a tough situation. I remember your thread with Nari , does she still refuse food ? If the only nutrition she has been getting is via syringe it might be best to continue offering it but otherwise let her sleep. So much is still unknown about " how to " with ADV + beardies, each one seems different. Just take it a day at a time , some syringe feeding if she'll have it but allowing her to sleep most of the time.

How is Gary ?

 

[mactac]

Aw, this is a tough situation. I remember your thread with Nari , does she still refuse food ? If the only nutrition she has been getting is via syringe it might be best to continue offering it but otherwise let her sleep. So much is still unknown about " how to " with ADV + beardies, each one seems different. Just take it a day at a time , some syringe feeding if she'll have it but allowing her to sleep most of the time.

How is Gary ?

Thanks! Nari went though a tough period maybe 9 months ago - she was syringe fed for about 3 months, then started eating on her own. She ended up getting parasites 2-3 months ago, and then stopped eating again I think that the parasites did a pretty good number on her this time. We are hopeful since we successfully nursed her through it the previous time, though it's basically just trial and error.

I would love to hear from more people on how they managed to transition from syringe to real food again, since I feel that she's just used to the syringe now as "the way to eat". We stop feeding her for a few days at a time once in a while just to try to coax her to eat , but so far no luck. Since she is sick, we are reluctant to let her starve for too long - just 3-4 days maximum.

Gary is doing great - she didn't eat on her own for about 3 months, and seems to be quite healthy. Gary is older than Nari (Gary is about 1.7 years old now) , and we suspect that she caught it from Nari who had it from the breeder. It's possible that Gary has done better because she didn't have it when she was really young.

It would be great to have everyone's experience on how to get them eating again after syringe feeding compiled into a document somewhere, as there seems to be a complete lack of info. I know that every beardie is different, but I'm sure there are some best practices that we can share. I think the same is with my original question in this post - there isn't any information available - I realize that not enough research has been done, but many of us have gone through this and has successes and made mistakes along the way, and it would be really nice to see strategies and outcomes that people have experienced. That's what research is after all

 

[AHBD]

That would be good, also how other's with ADV + dragons cared for theirs.

You might try this....although it's nasty.....take a feeder insect and kill it but squeeze a bit of the guts out and rub that lightly on her snout. Sometimes they will go for it that way.

 

[mactac]

That would be good, also how other's with ADV + dragons cared for theirs.

You might try this....although it's nasty.....take a feeder insect and kill it but squeeze a bit of the guts out and rub that lightly on her snout. Sometimes they will go for it that way.

I've actually done that before actually! Just not successfully this time around. Every once in a while I can get her to eat some banana if I put it under her gums too.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, if she'll take a bug like that. You can cut the head off a superworm , dubia or just squish a cricket. Which have you tried ?

 

[mactac]

O.K, if she'll take a bug like that. You can cut the head off a superworm , dubia or just squish a cricket. Which have you tried ?

Head off a cricket. This worked the first time when she stopped eating but so far not this time yet unfortunately.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is a hard question!
Adeno doesn't always have symptoms as it seems to affect dragons all differently. Normally, with
adeno you may have more issues with coccidia levels being higher than they should be. In a pre-
brumation or normal brumation phase they really shouldn't be having much of any issues with a
high coccidia level.
Normal brumation shouldn't affect their weight either whereas Adeno may contribute to weight loss
simply because of a compromised immune system.
As long as they are healthy, the best thing is to simply monitor the weight, keep the hydration status
up & be sure they don't have a black beard while sleeping.

Tracie